Okay. I've read a few topics before but I'm 15 and would just like to talk to someone.

A few months ago i moved into a new house and there was alot of stray cats outside. At first I didnt like them but they started to grow on me.

One cat I took a liking too and named Socks. I was letting her in when it was raining but then about 2 monts ago she started staying in about 20 hours a day. She insisted on going outside for a bit though I guess because she was feral and all.

Well my mom decided I could keep her and for like christmas she was going to get her fixed and vaccinated and everything.

well about 2 weeks ago she started getting moody. I wasn't sure why but she was just cranky. Whenever I petted her she would get a little aggitated.

then about a week ago her stomach started getting round! So now it turns out she got pregnant before we could get her fixed.

So now I think shes going to go into labor within the next week or two.

Um could someone help me out? anyone here deliever kittens before?

shes very healthy and theres no chance she has FIV because I've had other cats tested around her before and they are all in good shape.

Hehe I'd really just like to talk to someone who's done this before. Me and my mom don't really know what we're doing. She's had kittens before apparently when she was still a stray (before I moved here) and shes about a year or two old. She's well fed and doesn't have fleas or anything. I take really good care of her.

Maya

November 15th, 2006, 09:31 PM

Hi, I haven't done the kitten thing in a long long time so I can't give much advice about it. However, I think if she hasn't been to the vet yet now would be a very good time for her to have a checkup. She should be on a special diet while pregnant and nursing, a vet could help you and your mum make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs. There is also the possibility for complications so having a plan in place is a good idea e.g. emergency number, what to do if one of the kittens stops breathing etc.. hopefully nothing like that will happen but it's good to be prepared for the worst.

abudamunky

November 16th, 2006, 01:14 AM

ah, the fun of waking up one morning and the wittle baby kitty u had is now all fat and can't even jump up on the couch...

my patty cake had her litter back in march and although i'm sure that your girl isn't as close w/ u as mine is w/ me, there are still many things you can do to help her along her way.

put her on a diet of kitten food. not just kiten food, she needs fats and other stuff to help get healthy for the babies and build up milk for when they are born. so a mix of dry kitten food and canned food is good and treats also help mommy feel loved. sometimes mommies won't eat for a day or so after birth, they're just too tired.

My cat woke me up at 6am and had her kittens in my bed w/ boyfriend sleeping most of the time. I'm sure that your girl isn't that close, but she will be very lazy the next few weeks, try and bond w/ her a little. let her know that you are there for her. make sure to pay extra attention to her belly. if she'll let you, kinda pet it and DON'T POKE! you can feel around gently to see if u can count the babies inside, but if u poke her too much she can miscarry. if you can't get to her belly, don't worry, she's jsut shy, don't freak her out.
as for where to have the babies.... DON'T LET HER OUTSIDE! you do not want her to build her 'nest' outside, expecially when it's getitn cold. make up a box w/ some nice fluffy blankets (one's u don't realy care if they get blood on) she may not have the kitten there, but if she does or doesn't, u can somewhere to keep the babies and momma after they are born.

about a week or so before the birth, mommy will be nesting, aka looking for a place to have the litter. if you come home and can't find her, chances are she's curled up in a nice worm place somewhere. she will most likely find a place really soon and will mark everything around it w/ her scent so the babies will be able to smell her all around then.

a day or 2 after the kittens are born, mommy will move them away from teh birth site. this is natural. in the wild it woudl be like, trying to get away from the signs of blood to avoid predators. I was able to change my blankets as soon as patty cake was done w/ the delivery so she stayed in my bed w/ the kittens for a few weeks. she did let me sleep w/ them in bed, although i rarely did due to being afraid of rolling onto the babies. Again, patty cake and i are very close, i've never known anyone to be that close w/ thir cat as to have them have kittens in their bed w/ them next to the mom.

as for, preparing for a disaster during birth. if you are there for it, try not to touch the babies, mom will take care of pretty much everything. she can cut the embilical cord and eat the after-birth, the only thing you should worry about is if the kitten comes out in it's sack/butt or tail first. (it looks like a water ballon) if momma can't get the sack popped and the kitten's nose cleared soon enough, it could suffocate. if u think that mommy is not doing things right, you can try wrapping the kitten in a towel and rubbing the back of the kittens back(head to butt/back and forth) firmly until u hear it squeak. i've never had to do this, but usually a rubbing of the back of their head or face w/ a towel will cause the kitten to react.

after the kitten is born, they will pretty much attach to mommy's nipple. momma will continue to clean baby and catch her breath before the next one comes. it could be up to an hour or 2 before the next one. my experience took about 3 hours for 5 kittens, the last taking 30 mins.

u may want to do some research on google, just search "cat pregnancies" or related things. but i hope that i some how helped. but since u are pretty sure that mommy has had another litter before, she will know what to do. chances are u won't be there for the birth, but the diet of mommy and babies is important. kitten food is good for mommy after the litter too, it helps build fat and milk production. treats and cuddling are always good

sorry for the horrible typing or if i overwhelmed you... i don't know if u mentions that you have taken her to the vet since u discovered the pregnancy but of course, they are the best place to go. they might even have some special mommy food for your furr-baby...

if u can any questions, feel free to PM me, i'm not on often, but hopefully i can help u as much as possible....

kathryn

November 17th, 2006, 12:18 AM

Thank you sooo much! She's on a diet of Purina kitten chow anyways because I have a kitten (about 5 months) that I had found outside when he was about a month old and now he lives inside now too. So it just makes sense to feed them both kitten chow :P

I can ask my mom to take her to the vets... but my old neighboor is a vet tech so usually with simple things like this I could just go over and visit her. I've known her for a very long time and she has helped me tons of times with my pets.

The only thing that I'm worried about is there are no emergancy vets in my area. The closet one is like 2 hours away =/ But as long as my old neighboor is home then I don't think she would mind if I had her help or something. she lives 5 minutes away.

Well since she seems very healthy and her belly is just getting round and well she seems fine so all I can do is hope it all goes well ^^

Thanks for helping me out!

abudamunky

November 17th, 2006, 11:58 AM

during the birth, the only emergencies that you should worry about is if mommy is still pushing after like 2 or 3 hours, that means there's still a baby in her and if u don't get him out fast it could die. also if she cuts the embilical cord too short the kitten could bleed a lot, but since she's not a first time momy, u shouldn't have to worry about that.
give momma lots of love and etc, maybe u'll be lucky enough to get to see the birth (it's gross looking, but such a great learning experience)

Maya

November 17th, 2006, 04:22 PM

Hi kathryn, It's nice to see you are taking so much responsibility and time to research what you can do to help your soon to be kitty mother. It looks like you've had some good advice so far. I would like to add and stress a few more things here to help out if I can.

I have a kitten (about 5 months) that I had found outside when he was about a month old and now he lives inside now too. A a young male in the presence of a litter could cause problems. He should be neutered soon and probably be separated from the mom and kittens. Momma could become pregnant again quite soon after she gives birth. If he has not been vaccinated or still goes outside he could pass something on to the new family.

She's on a diet of Purina kitten chow anyways because I have a kitten (about 5 months) that I had found outside when he was about a month old and now he lives inside now too. So it just makes sense to feed them both kitten chow :P From what I understand Purina is a very low quality food. Now is not a good time to switch quickly, it would need to be gradual but I think it would be wise to look into a higher quality food to start everyone on. Maybe someone who knows more about healthier brands of foods can suggest something or the vet could possibly help with that. The food forum here is also a good place to ask/search for that info.

during the birth, the only emergencies that you should worry about is if mommy is still pushing after like 2 or 3 hours, that means there's still a baby in her and if u don't get him out fast it could die. also if she cuts the embilical cord too short the kitten could bleed a lot, but since she's not a first time momy, u shouldn't have to worry about that. I'd like to add to what abudamunky has mentioned here from part of an article. I think there are quite a few things that can come up:

COMPLICATIONS SURROUNDING LABOR AND PREGNANCY

Vaginal Bleeding: Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is not normal and suggests that she is aborting the litter. If this is occurring late in pregnancy (the 8th week) she may be delivering the litter prematurely and a cesarean section is likely necessary. In either case, have the vet check her to assess the blood loss and decide what to do.

Dystochia: If she has been having strong contractions for greater than 60 minutes, she needs assistance in passing the kitten. Bring her and any kittens delivered to the vet’s office right away.

Retained Placenta/Metritis: If the mother cat retains a placenta , she can develop an infection, fever, appetite loss, and kitten neglect. If this occurs, she will need to see the vet right away, possibly be hospitalized and will probably need to be spayed to remove the infection.

Well my mom decided I could keep her and for like christmas she was going to get her fixed and vaccinated and everything. What you've said here worries me because when it comes to taking care of health issues like vaccinations etc.. it's not something that should have to wait for special occasions, it needs to be done promptly as needed. Maybe try to look at it as your pets health is like a gift and some other presents or stuff might have to wait, it is expensive to take good care of pets.

Okay so that's what I thought of and felt was important, of course there's always going to be more. Please remember not to take any advice as absolute authority. It's up to you to filter through it all and choose what is the most applicable for your situation (Googling specific symptoms is a good tool). If you have any doubt or you just don't know if something makes sense, keep looking until you get an answer that sounds reasonable. Even veterinarians make mistakes and need to be questioned.

Don't hesitate to ask others to help out with all of this, it is a big on going responsibilty for one person. You are on the right track.:thumbs up :cat:

Here is the link to where the article came from and more info that looked useful: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_giving_birth_to_kittens.html

MyBirdIsEvil

November 17th, 2006, 04:52 PM

From what I understand Purina is a very low quality food. Now is not a good time to switch quickly, it would need to be gradual but I think it would be wise to look into a higher quality food to start everyone on

NO hard food is a good choice for a cats primary diet.

A pregnant cat should never be on primarily dry, there's not enough moisture and the protein sources aren't adequate, not to mention since the food has been heated to high temperatures and dried out the nutrients aren't absorbed as readily as in canned food.
A pregnant cat can do ok on storebought canned food, but they often won't do very well on storebought dry food.
Me and my parents took in many pregnant cats and though we couldn't afford to feed high end canned food we NEVER fed primarily dry to them, dry food really isn't a good choice for any cat much less a pregnant cat. Pregnant cats often won't take in enough calories from dry food for the kittens growing inside of them to thrive, and they NEVER get enough moisture to produce adequate milk for after the kittens are born, because they won't drink enough water to account for the dryness of the kibble.

The best diet for a pregnant cat would be to leave out a quality dry food (such as Natural Balance - I'm sure some others could make more suggestions), and give canned at set feeding times, allowing the mother to eat as much as she wants.
If you could convince your parents to buy a high quality canned food such as Natural Balance or Innova that would be the best option, though that gets expensive, just don't feed your cat only dry food, especially a crappy food like purina which is primarily corn.

Also, your cat has GOT to be taken to the vet as soon as you can.

Maya

November 17th, 2006, 08:09 PM

NO hard food is a good choice for a cats primary diet.
Yes I knew that, I've learned that the hard way.:sad: I'm guessing it's Purina chow that means dry, I didn't notice I assumed she was getting a wet food. Even vet prescribed dry food is not adequate, they need wet for main meals and the dry I think of as snack food. Keep in mind that even though a good quality food might seem expensive it is much more for your money, it will go way further than a "cheap" food that is mainly filler.

I also agree that a vet visit is strongly recommended.

CyberKitten

November 17th, 2006, 11:02 PM

If you can afford anything better than Purina which is rather junky (they use rendering), get her Wellness or Scence Diet and feed her some Kitten food to help the babies. What does her vet say? She still needs to be tested for FIV and other diseases!! And it is essential she be vetted as a mom to be.

MyBirdIsEvil

November 17th, 2006, 11:07 PM

If you can afford anything better than Purina which is rather junky (they use rendering), get her Wellness or Scence Diet and feed her some Kitten food to help the babies.

Out of curiosity what makes you recommend Science Diet?
Science Diet has a lot of filler (even the canned) and costs just as much as the high end hollistic foods even though the ingredients are no better than most grocery store foods.

Maya

November 18th, 2006, 04:05 PM

Maybe some people are fooled by the name? Science Diet sounds good.:shrug: